Done with first year of college, poor GPA, time to give up med school hopes?

[BoxinMoxin]

There are a lot of things I can blame. I did not go to high school in a good environment and we did not have many AP courses at my high school, in fact I did not even go to a decent public school. But, that is just some side excuse, an excuse that is nothing but an excuse.

My first semester of college I finished with a 2.9 GPA. Took 16 credit hours, made 1 A, 3 B's and a C in a pre med course (chemistry 1).
My second semester of college I started out strong but ended up even worse. Took 14 credit hours, made 1 A, 1 B, and 2 C's (1 in calculus and 1 in chem 2).

During the summer I took physics 1, I made a B on it. Currently I am taking physics 2, made a 75 on my first test, we have one test coming up next week and a final which will count for 2 test grades.

I know some pre-meds who have started strong with 4.0 GPAs and 3.8 GPAs and I finished my first year with a 2.8 GPA.

I just don't know what is in store for me but is it time to consider giving up hope or should I consider that after I finish organic chemistry?

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[macsta]

There are a lot of things I can blame. I did not go to high school in a good environment and we did not have many AP courses at my high school, in fact I did not even go to a decent public school. But, that is just some side excuse, an excuse that is nothing but an excuse.

My first semester of college I finished with a 2.9 GPA. Took 16 credit hours, made 1 A, 3 B's and a C in a pre med course (chemistry 1).
My second semester of college I started out strong but ended up even worse. Took 14 credit hours, made 1 A, 1 B, and 2 C's (1 in calculus and 1 in chem 2).

During the summer I took physics 1, I made a B on it. Currently I am taking physics 2, made a 75 on my first test, we have one test coming up next week and a final which will count for 2 test grades.

I know some pre-meds who have started strong with 4.0 GPAs and 3.8 GPAs and I finished my first year with a 2.8 GPA.

I just don't know what is in store for me but is it time to consider giving up hope or should I consider that after I finish organic chemistry?

At the rate you are going, yes, you should give up on your medical school aspirations. However, if you want to start busting your ass, you have a decent shot...you are only a Sophomore. Take exams and test very seriously because every credit hour you take has the potential to boost your GPA.

 

[demh23]

Okay so you have like a ~2.7, ~2.8 GPA. Lets say you take about the same number of credit hours in 2nd 3rd and 4th year and you get all A's in your classes. Your GPA will be around a 3.67 which is just fine. Your Bio,Chem,Physics,Math gpa (science gpa) will probably be a little lower because of your performance in calc and chem but thats not too abnormal.. Just buckle down this upcoming year. You know the intensity of your classes so there is no reason not to do well from here on out. All the best

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

You still have a lot of classes to take before medical school, a lot of chances to improve your gpa. Then there are also the mcat scores, ec's, etc. There is a lot more that goes into admission than what you have right now.

Just upward trend your ass off and you will do fine.

 

[flatearth22]

if you want to get into med school you most definately will.

if not US MD then US DO

if not US DO then Caribbean

keep your head up, take some fish oil and a multi, study hard every day, and take it one class at a time. 👍

 

[El Nino]

+1 to what everyone has said

On a side note, of all classes to take during the summer, why physics? You need to focus on raising your GPA, not possibly ruining it.

 

[911 Turbo]

+1 to what everyone has said

On a side note, of all classes to take during the summer, why physics? You need to focus on raising your GPA, not possibly ruining it.

If he has to take phys at one point, it may as well be in the summer when there are less distractions

 

[macsta]

On a side note, of all classes to take during the summer, why physics? You need to focus on raising your GPA, not possibly ruining it.

+123912098321093
Take anthropology or criminal justice. Physics is hard enough during a regular semester an eight week class has got to be brutal.

 

[kpcrew]

I started with a 3.2, worked hard and ended with a 3.6

Just try your best from now and do a post-bacc if you need to.

 

[generator]

Don't give up - its too early for you to be thinking like that. Aside from the obvious advice of getting as many A's as possible in your premed reqs, you might want to consider this:

1. find out what the nonscience majors are taking to fulfill science credit. Sometimes this will correspond to something that will count toward your science gpa. for example, the astronomy courses at my university are notoriously easy. beware, if it is a science and it is easy... but will not be helpful in contributing to your science gpa - do NOT waste your time. for example: geology (unless you're into that)
2. get to know your professors. Get plenty of help during their office hours let them know about your aspirations. Visit them often. This will help you on test day plus maybe provide a good letter of recommendation.
3. take courses that interest you and that you know you can do well in. While you take organic chem sophomore year (and i'm assuming biology?) don't go crazy taking a bunch of hard classes. make any science a priority and fill the rest with subjects that won't stress you out too much. its a good time to take classes you find interesting like public health courses, arts and humanities, creative writing... whatever.
4. wanna do research? sometime you can even do this for letter grade credit. I highly recommend it.

best of luck :]

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Honestly, don't get so down on yourself. I started off my first semester with a 2.6. I got a 3.4 my next and a 3.5 on my other one. I've been around the 3.45-3.6 range for the rest of the semesters. I'm around a 3.41 right now (Yes I know still below average) but if everything goes right, (A's on my last 2 summer classes) I'll sit around a 3.5 ish.
The thing is, don't give up, just focus on your work. Also, don't forget about EC's, research, (if interested) and volunteering.

 

[pancakesyrup]

No, there is no need to give up. But if you want to go to an American medical school (MD or DO), you should try to get your GPA up to at least 3.4 (3.6 for MD). You'll have to work your ass off, but it can be done.

 

[Medicine4Bruhs]

You are doing too much too quickly and it is killing your GPA. At the rate you are going, you will seriously endanger your chances for a med school acceptance before you even begin your junior year. Slow down.

Technically, you did not need to take physics so early in college. Many students also take orgo their junior years rather than their sophomore years. While some students have the ability to take all their pre-reqs their first two years and then take the MCAT the summer before junior year, that is unnecessary. Take easier classes. Take classes you can manage better. Take gen-ed classes for a semester. Do not take p-chem series or some ungodly class in hopes of impressing people. Get tutoring. Find the physics resource room. Underload, underload, underload, and you will be fine.

 

[gobroncos123]

I think it is reasonable to write off freshman year as shell-shock. But, you must get A's in organic chemistry, maybe even biochemistry, to show that you can handle the pace and rigor of the M1 curriculum. I think a GPA of 3.5 is the cutoff for having a reasonable shot at M.D. matriculation. Below that and a lot of schools will either screen you out, or take your money and reject you.

 

[Halcyon03]

OP: I started off exactly as you had, coming from a subpar high school (compared to my classmates) and having taken zero AP courses. By keeping focus, I began to trend upward though it wasn't instantaneous, definitely a lag phase. Learning the ropes requires time and patience. Don't purposely take easy courses just to improve your GPA, adcoms understand how subjective a number it is. Instead, truly become a stronger student by attempting the difficult classes, making the MCAT a breeze. A meteoric rise in GPA sometimes looks suspicious and may cause them to look at your course selection a bit closer. It'll pay dividends in the long run, stateside MD is not out of reach by a long shot. Best of luck.

 

[FredAstaire]

going from 2.6 to even 3.5+ rarely happens in just a semester.

You should really consider extending your degree to 5 or 6 years to have a realistic goal of raising your GPA.

 

[DeltaPlaya]

oh boohoo you have a 2.8 gpa after your first year.
listen dude, im starting my sophomore year with a freaking 2.5 and I'm an engineer who hasnt even gotten to my hard classes yet, ya thats called goofing off. im not losing hope. i completed an engineering calculus course 2 weeks in advance of the last day with a 97 average. taught myself the whole course. on top of that, im now going to start reading ahead on physics for engineers and ochem. thats how you bounce back, get back in the game with attitude this time.

please dont ruin the rest of your summer constantly thinking about this grade problem, its NOT A PROBLEM its ONLY YOUR FRESHMAN YEAR.

go hard next semester, alright? more people than you know it screw up their freshman year, its a give away, you can get a 0.0 get kicked out of college after your freshman year and still make it to med school.

come on now don't give up!


worst comes to worst, take an extra to repair your GPA.

 

[Person0715]

+1 to what everyone has said

On a side note, of all classes to take during the summer, why physics? You need to focus on raising your GPA, not possibly ruining it.

I'm taking physics I and II this sumer and I think it's not too difficult, granted I'm taking it at a CC though I don't know if that makes a difference. Of course, you have less time to adjust to the prof's teaching style, but focusing on only one class is much easier than focusing on four.

To the OP, just try harder in the coming years. Hopefully, your experience has taught you something so that you can avoid this problem in the future.

Best of luck.

 

[Born4spd]

Sucks when the fear of failing overpowers your will to win?
Been there done that.
How much do you want it?
You're not showing that you want it very much...
You get out what you put in.

Stop worrying so much about failing, and get it done.

I hope that helps, those phrases helped me through my dark times.

Now go READ!
Focus Focus Focus.

 

[Charles Darwin]

I'd highly recommend taking a gap year so you have more time to improve your GPA and ECs.

 

[BoxinMoxin]

Physics in the summer is not so bad, I ALMOST made an A in physics 1 and physics 2 is getting better.

I realized that the main thing which is really hurting me is my social life. Like I go to a commuter university so there isn't an active social life here and on top of that I live in a neighborhood far away (miles and miles) from a lot of other students. I feel I am missing out on so much of life which I will never get to live again.

 

[BoxinMoxin]

anymore comments?

 

[iqe2010]

I just finished my first year of school as well, and my GPA is much worse than yours. I'm still keeping my head held high. Just do your best from here on out. I know what I may end up doing is changing to a bigger minor to raise my GPA, and I actually might wait until after I graduate to apply. That is, if I'm still interested. Everyday I feel like I'm getting less interested in medicine. Doctors are getting their pay sliced and diced, and then there's the fear of the government trying to "fix" healthcare. Sometimes all the sweat, blood, and tears becoming a doctor entails doesn't seem worth it.

 

[armybound]

I finished my first year with a 2.5 GPA. Learn from your mistakes, work harder, do well, and get the GPA up. All hope is not lost.

 

[ItzYaYa]

I finished my first year with a 2.5 GPA. Learn from your mistakes, work harder, do well, and get the GPA up. All hope is not lost.

Agreed. OP, you can feasibly raise your GPA to a 3.4+. I'd recommend taking summer and winter sessions. Address the reason why you did poorly your first year, and once you do that, you should be able to do better. ^_^

 

[BoxinMoxin]

I finished my first year with a 2.5 GPA. Learn from your mistakes, work harder, do well, and get the GPA up. All hope is not lost.

thanks and I have found out my major flaw leading to that GPA, I will post a thread on it as it is a hurtful one

 

[musiconcerto]

.

 

[CodeBlu]

Freshman year might as well be a write off. Do well from here on in. Figure out your weaknesses and you mistakes. Get good grades, apply to med school, become doctor, save the world....

disclaimer: not necessarily in that order.

 

[DavidTheGreek]

I would not worry. I barely even attended college, but due to an injury postponed enlistment. I came into school not liking anything and feeling completely lost. I was always a quick person mentally, but school/busy work never interested me. I started freshman year with I think about a 3 point, including getting a C in chemistry (probably did not deserve that C even). I now am going to graduate with 2 degrees, a 3.8 GPA, just hit a 35 on my 2nd practice test, and am enrolled in a masters program at my institution (my school allows you to concurrently take masters courses while finishing your undergraduate degree). Life goes on, it is not the end of the world. Though academics are important, as are extracurriculars, you need to relax and have fun. How would you make it through med school or boards so stressed out? Enjoy your undergrad but just try to do a little better (and get some volunteering in now, that was a big mistake for me). Good luck

 

[tiktok22]

Don't give up!! And if becoming a doctor is your dream, you won't give up.

Absolutely agree with what everyone said..also a lot of schools are really impressed by an upward trend. My state school even recalculates your gpa like this:

Fresh: gpa x 1
Soph: gpa x2
Jr: gpa x3

So bottom line, just kick ass in the rest of your classes (dont stress about getting 4.0's, just do well), ace your MCAT and you're still good. Best of luck!!

 

[BoxinMoxin]

but if I am applying for med school, my senior year won't matter will it?

The GPA won't be factored in right?

 

[Charles Darwin]

but if I am applying for med school, my senior year won't matter will it?

The GPA won't be factored in right?

If you don't want to do a gap year, your senior year will not count. I'd suggest taking an extra year improving your GPA and ECs before you apply.

 

[Alejandro]

I think you're jumping the gun about applying in senior year, etc, when you've only gone through your first semester. I think you need to reevaluate why you want to go into medicine, see if that motivates you to bring your grades up. (Lots of UGs that i've tutored that happen to be premed never walk the talk, so that's probably the first thing to consider)

There's nothing wrong with taking more time off to improve your application, and people see that as a sign of maturity rather than applying a few schools senior year then reapplying all over again. (Not to mention it's expensive, unless you have your parents paying for it) Do it once, do it right. Unless you're rocking soph, junior, and senior year to the point where freshman year has absolutely no correlation, I'd hold off on it until you're ready. For starters, i'd just make sure your next semester is gravy before you start thinking the long term bigger picture. Baby steps, my friend.

I say this from experience. started UG with a 2.9. brought it up to a 3.5 by graduation. not impossible. you just need to have discipline and self-motivation to get your grades up.

 

[BoxinMoxin]

I think you're jumping the gun about applying in senior year, etc, when you've only gone through your first semester. I think you need to reevaluate why you want to go into medicine, see if that motivates you to bring your grades up. (Lots of UGs that i've tutored that happen to be premed never walk the talk, so that's probably the first thing to consider)

There's nothing wrong with taking more time off to improve your application, and people see that as a sign of maturity rather than applying a few schools senior year then reapplying all over again. (Not to mention it's expensive, unless you have your parents paying for it) Do it once, do it right. Unless you're rocking soph, junior, and senior year to the point where freshman year has absolutely no correlation, I'd hold off on it until you're ready. For starters, i'd just make sure your next semester is gravy before you start thinking the long term bigger picture. Baby steps, my friend.

I say this from experience. started UG with a 2.9. brought it up to a 3.5 by graduation. not impossible. you just need to have discipline and self-motivation to get your grades up.

did you go to a great university?

like do they factor that into it too?

 

[Soulstice]

did you go to a great university?

like do they factor that into it too?

no, it doesn't really matter..

 

[BoxinMoxin]

no, it doesn't really matter..

alright, great, thanks!